Colorado Rockies tickets

GEOGRAPHICALLY, THE MOVE by the Colorado Rockies from Mile High Stadium to Coors Field was only across town, but the new ballpark is worlds away in style and substance. In the continuing tradition of new retro ballparks such as Camden Yards, Coors is a beautiful, comfortable facility.

Fans granted the Rockies a sort of immunity during their inaugural 1993 season at Mile High, but by their third year in the National League, fans expected a winner and greeted sloppy play or poor pitching with loud booing. This was reminiscent of Mets fans at the Polo Grounds in 1962, indulging their Amazins with patience during a horrendous season; but with the Mets' move to Shea Stadium in 1964, fans' contentment with the lovable losers wore thin. So, too, the Rockies now face the win-now mentality at Coors.

The expanse of lush green outfield grass is stunning here, more so than at most major-league fields. Since Denver is situated over 5,200 feet above sea level-indeed, it is the Mile High City-the air is thinner, so the baseball travels farther. The fences are commensurately farther from home plate, creating more outfield space. From the Rockies' inception, they assembled teams long on power-the team nickname for a time was the Blake Street Bombers. But after falling to last place in 1999, team management decided to replace the power-hitting lineup with faster, more defense-oriented players, the better to cover the outfield gaps, which are enormous.

The sight lines at Coors are wonderful, from both the lower level and the upper deck. The outfield features a bleacher section called the Rockpile, and although the view from those seats is distant at best, the price of a ticket is extraordinarily low. While not situated to encompass a panorama of downtown Denver, Coors still feels connected to the downtown area. A number of restaurants, brewery pubs, and souvenir shops sprang up when the ballpark opened, revitalizing a previously run-down area. And the outfield view does include, in the distance, the Rocky Mountains-one of the more beautiful vistas at a Major League Base-ball stadium.

QUINTON MCCRACKEN "My first experience in a major-league park was Coors Field, and when I walked out of the dugout, what startled me was the enormity of the park. It seemed like the parameters were endless. It's a very spacious field, it's green, it's a beautiful ballpark. It's like 400, 415 dead center and 330 down the lines, but foul line to foul line, it's just extremely large. And I was caught up in it, I was in awe. Looking up in the seats, it seemed like this place was almost the center of the universe."

CRAIG BIGGIO "It's beautiful being outside and being out there. It's just a healthy atmosphere to be there. They've got great people there, great fans-it's just a lot of fun."

RYAN THOMPSON "Coors Field is quite amazing. We opened that ballpark with the Mets in 1995. It would be a great place for any hitter. The ball flies there, it's a great atmosphere, good fans. It's a beau¬tiful place."